Officials: Close the Sellwood Bridge now
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Multnomah County officials say it's time to close the Sellwood Bridge, the busiest two-lane crossing in Oregon.
Commissioner Maria Rojo de Steffey says the county needs to take the action because it can't get a 100 percent guarantee the bridge built in 1925 won't collapse.
The deficiencies of the decrepit bridge are known to engineers and laymen. And the span has come under increased scrutiny since last summer's collapse of a Minneapolis bridge.
But engineers who regularly check the Sellwood say it can continue to safely carry the estimated 30,000 cars that travel over it each day. The bridge has a weight limit that prohibits buses and other heavy vehicles.
The county is reviewing whether to repair or replace the bridge, but hasn't found the money to pay for the project.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Commissioner Maria Rojo de Steffey says the county needs to take the action because it can't get a 100 percent guarantee the bridge built in 1925 won't collapse.
The deficiencies of the decrepit bridge are known to engineers and laymen. And the span has come under increased scrutiny since last summer's collapse of a Minneapolis bridge.
But engineers who regularly check the Sellwood say it can continue to safely carry the estimated 30,000 cars that travel over it each day. The bridge has a weight limit that prohibits buses and other heavy vehicles.
The county is reviewing whether to repair or replace the bridge, but hasn't found the money to pay for the project.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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